strange error returning template class from member function

[demma]

When I do this:

// header file:

#include <list>

using namespace std;

class myClass {

list<int> myMethod();
};

// cpp file:

list<int> myClass::myMethod() {


}

In the cpp file, 'myMethod' is underlined in red and when I hover over it, it says:

"std::list<int, std::allocator<int>> myClass::myMethod()

Error: declaration is incompatible with "<error-type> myClass::myMethod()""

But when I make it as a standalone function, outside a class, with no pre-declaration, there is no problem.

What's going on?

Thanks in advance.

[S_M_A]

That should work. Have you typed that or did you cut & paste from your actual code?

When posting code please embed it in code tags to preserve the indentation [code]Paste code here[/code]

Oh, one more thing. You should never ever add using namespace to a header. In this case you should instead use std::list<int>

[demma]

btw, my IDE is visual c++ 2010 express

[demma]

I typed it in. Thanks for the tips.

[demma]

hmmm, it works now that I have explicitly included <list> instead of just these:

#include <iostream>
#include <fstream>
#include <string>
#include <boost\regex.hpp>
#include <math.h>
#include <time.h>

I don't know which one it was in, but it must have been in one of the top 3, because when I tried to use a method of a list, my IDE showed a list of the methods of std::list. So including <list> shouldn't have made any difference. Any one understand why it did, or might have?

[S_M_A]

Yes that might be a bit confusing. When you hover over your code it's the intellisense that provides you with all details, not the compiler/linker. Sometimes it's dead stupid and finds nothing but sometimes it's very smart like this time. I.e. even though you hadn't included list the intellisense guessed it was std::list you meant so it provided that info for you.

[demma]

In that case it should have given me a far simpler error message: it should have simply underlined like so:

list<int> myMethod();

In the declaration in the class. That's what it would normally do if you tried to use an undefined type.

[S_M_A]

Hard to tell what did go wrong without having the real code. Usually I find MSVC (and also other compilers) to provide quite resonable errors these days. You should have seen them +10 years ago...

[MrViggy]

In that case it should have given me a far simpler error message: it should have simply underlined like so:

list<int> myMethod();

In the declaration in the class. That's what it would normally do if you tried to use an undefined type.

Again, this feature is not the compiler/linker. So, as SMA said, it may be "smarter" then you, thinking that you are going to include the proper standard header file.

This is also one of the reasons I don't use Intellisense. It just annoys the crap out of me!

Viggy